


Falconry and the Heart

by ItCameFromOuterAce



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Animal Transformation, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 05:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19387642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItCameFromOuterAce/pseuds/ItCameFromOuterAce
Summary: A stroke of ill luck can bring people together.





	Falconry and the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Started this a while ago, lost my wind and found it again. I fell into a research hole on this one, but I couldn’t figure out if tonic immobility works in hawks the way it works in chickens. We’re just going to say it does on Eos. Do not attempt to handle an injured animal based on techniques depicted below.

⦥(⏜v⏜)⦤

_Fucking nagas with their bullshit magic getting Six damned **creative** now?_ Prompto attempted to flutter up to a rock ledge to get away from the goblins throwing rocks at him, but he still couldn't figure out flight. Luckily these daemons seemed more interested in tormenting him than in killing him. The naga had been quite direct in her intentions when she turned Prompto into a bird and then tried to crush him. Only a warp-strike from Noct had saved him, but Prompto had gone over the cliff's edge in his confusion. He'd been unable to find a way back up before the goblins had forced him to flee.

Whatever the naga had done to transform Prompto was lasting longer than the usual toad form. He'd been hopping for hours, keeping out of reach of his slow pursuit. Dawn couldn't be far off, and then Prompto could try to find his bearings and get to civilization and remedies. Unfortunately, one of the goblins was apparently getting tired of the game and the next rock struck him hard. Pain blossomed in Prompto's right wing and he felt more than heard the crack of bone as he tumbled from the force. 

Prompto heard the goblins closing in and tried to rise but floundered. He decided he was at least going to face them and scraped his beak along the rocky sand as he contorted to get his head pointed towards his attackers. Just as all hope seemed lost a vaguely familiar voice came from behind him, laced with more ice than whimsy. 

“That is quite enough of that.” Impossibly, the looming goblins drew back. Prompto stared as they scurried back and were lost in the darkness. He turned his head to face his rescuer but froze when cloth dropped over his head. It was strange, he wanted to move but couldn't persuade his body. “Now what's a handsome lad like you doing out at this time of night?” Footsteps crunched next to Prompto. He still couldn't move, but he found he also couldn't panic. “Did those little brats knock you from your perch? Now, I shan't bite you, and I'd appreciate the same courtesy if you wouldn't mind.” Prompto felt pressure all around his body and discovered that he could move if properly motivated. 

He managed to thrash once in the man’s grip before the strangest thing happened. The pressure on him moved as the man wrapped one hand entirely around Prompto’s covered head and the other pinned his wings down and he was tipped so the blood rushed to his head. “There, there, now that’s not how to be a good bird. Your poor wing was broken by those dreadful goblins; I need you to stay still for me.” Prompto shivered as the eerie calm redoubled. At least this guy seemed willing to help. He felt the man set him down on his back and heard the sound of rustling cloth. “Alright, I’ve nothing to splint your wing with so we’ll have to go to one of those dreary little outposts. Ah, this will keep you from hurting your wing along the way.” There was a tearing sound.

Prompto blinked as the cloth, no, the scarf covering him was pulled away. Before he could blink something else was pulled over his head and down his body. Was...was this a sock? With the toe cut off? His rescuer turned him upright and Prompto peered through the pre-dawn gloom to see who was helping him but something else was slipped over his head. Prompto had a vague impression of lace, like a fancy handkerchief, before his mind stilled again. “Ah, not a proper hood, I’m afraid, but I hope you feel a bit better now. Come along, let’s see about your wing.” Prompto felt pressure under his belly and, prompted by an unfamiliar instinct, hopped to grip it with both feet. He felt himself raise away from the ground and realized he must be sitting on the man’s arm. 

He was still trying to figure out holding on with feet when the man suddenly started walking and Prompto’s feet gripped on their own. They both froze, Prompto taken with fear of both hurting his rescuer and what the much larger man might do to a bird that was stabbing him with its feet. The man, for his part, held still before carefully stroking Prompto. “My apologies dear, it’s been far too long since I’ve had the company of a fine hawk like you, I forgot myself.” The touch was nice, and since it had been a very difficult night Prompto allowed himself, just this once, to enjoy it. He eased his grip and the man made some adjustment before carefully shifting Prompto a few inches along his arm to where if felt like there was more padding. _How much cloth does this guy have on him_ , Prompto wondered as they set off again into the slowly lightening desert.

⦥(⏜v⏜)⦤

Prompto clung to an unknown man’s arm with his feet as he was carried blindfolded through the desert. It had been a very odd night. He tried to grasp his surroundings, but it seemed that hawks couldn't care about what they couldn't see. This was different from being cursed into toad form. That happened so quickly that he'd never noticed any changes in his mind. Prompto thought that he should panic again, but it wasn’t forthcoming. He occupied himself by trying to remember everything he knew about hawks. When that proved to be depressingly little Prompto found himself starting to drowse. The next thing he knew he was stepping off the man’s arm on to a firm, rounded surface. Then something looped around his ankle and the man said, “Now you wait here like a good bird; I’m getting a few supplies.” Prompto pulled at the binding experimentally, it seemed that he didn’t have a choice in waiting.

After a few minutes he heard footsteps approaching and the sock holding his wings down was pushed up. He jerked as his injury was jostled and pressed lightly. “Shhh,” It was still the same man who’d found Prompto. He forced himself to relax, an easier feat than usual with the blanket-sized scarf blocking the light and keeping his mind quiet. The man held his wing with one hand and held something hard along the edge as he wrapped something over and around the wing. “Now this will feel a little funny, but we want your wing to heal straight so you can get back to your assuredly busy schedule of flying about and eating rodents.”

Prompto heard a bottle open and felt the familiar rush of healing magic. A potion. “There we are!” That voice… sounds seemed different to bird ears, but the more he heard the more it felt like he should know this man. His wing was prodded and unwrapped as the man continued. “You’ll be happy to hear I just saved you _days_ of sitting around being fed by yours truly. You may thank me in the custom of your people by flying away with nary a backward glance.” Whatever was around his foot was pulled off and then the makeshift...hood? Yeah, he’d called it a hood; the makeshift hood was pulled away. Prompto glanced around; it felt weird, like his eyes were stuck so he had to move his whole head. He finally caught sight of his rescuer.

It...it’s that hot, creepy chancellor guy. Prompto gawked up at Ardyn even as the man took a quick step back and looked expectantly at him.

Prompto’s mind whirled; why was it always this guy? Sure he'd helped them out with getting to and away from the Archean, and Ravus… and with the mythril, but he was an imperial… but he was hot. He was also starting to frown.

"Go on, shoo." The chancellor’s sleeves flapped as he gently waved his hands toward Prompto. "You’re free, and surely close enough to your home to work it out." Prompto wanted to snort in derision, home? Insomnia had been burned by the Nifs. The thought of the Regalia and the guys passed through his mind. He needed to find them, but had no idea where to start looking. Still, he could at least try to figure out where he was. Prompto gathered his wings, leapt off the perch, and belly flopped on the ground with a soft thud. Right, he didn’t know how to fly. He lay there, more embarrassed than stunned, as Ardyn drew a hissed breath and crouched down in the dust next to Prompto.

“Oh no, easy...easy…” And there went the ‘hood’ again. Gentle hands lifted him and manipulated his wing; the chancellor huffed in dismay when he found nothing wrong. “Well, dear, I’m afraid this might be beyond me.” Prompto idly wondered if Chancellor Izunia would be able to pick him up and carry him in his normal form. Dude was pretty build; he probably could. Prompto indulged the eerie calm of the hood as Ardyn examined him for hidden injuries. It was kinda nice.

"Hmm, I've an idea. Why don't you stay with me?" Ardyn asked as though Prompto could answer. He held Prompto over his arm and pressed into his stomach. Prompto again gripped his feet without thought and felt Ardyn start walking.

The bell of a convenience store let Prompto know where they were and a man called out sharply, "Hey, no pets!" Prompto felt vaguely guilty.

"My good sir," Prompto hadn't realized how sincere the chancellor had been with him until he heard that sickly saccharine tone. " Surely you can see my new traveling companion is no mere pet! We are paying customers and should be treated as such." There was the sound of something hard being set on the counter. 

The man coughed, and said in a disgruntled tone, "If it makes a mess you're cleaning it up. They don't pay me enough to argue with crazy. Whaddaya want."

"We require a raw egg and a few ounces of minced meat, raw. Perhaps daggerquill?"

"Got birdbeast for the eggs, but the only ground is garula. You can do it yourself if you want daggerquill breast."

"Garula will suffice. Thank you for your indulgence. Come along, Hawk. You've had a trying night and deserve to break your fast."

"They always come in on my shift. Does Dan ever get crazies? Nooo." The clerk griped under his breath as Ardyn carried Prompto and his purchases outside. Prompto found himself set on the table and his foot tied down again. The hood was removed and Prompto looked around. It looked like any other Coernix, no sign of the guys. He took an experimental flap of his wings; nothing.

Ardyn had a small deli container of ground garula and, using his bare hands to Prompto’s horror, divided it and mixed one of the eggs into one half. Then he formed it into little balls and rolled them, raw meat and raw egg, on the table in front of Prompto. Prompto waited for his stomach to rebel, and felt vaguely betrayed when it didn’t. He looked at Ardyn, then at the meat, then back at Ardyn. The chancellor had backed away from the table and was watching Prompto with an expectant smile. He looked at the meat. It was glistening wet, pink, and distressingly ok looking to hawk eyes. Prompto found himself getting used to the sight of it. _Hawks eat raw meat all the time without getting sick. Just...just think of it like garula sashimi._

Hawks don’t seem to taste much, but Prompto suspected it was nothing like sashimi.

⦥(⏜v⏜)⦤

It occurred to Prompto how strange it was for the Imperial Chancellor to wandering around without any security as he figured out how to drink water with a beak and eavesdropped on Ardyn’s phone call. He was probably spying or something, though that seemed like it'd be below his pay grade. He figured since they'd crossed paths so often it only made sense to stick with him to find the guys.

“-with the vast improvements to the system, I should be moving to the final phase in a matter of weeks,” rasped a stranger’s voice on the other end of the call. “Do you think the children will be ready to move on any time soon?”

“Children can be difficult,” Ardyn chided. “We’ve got at least two more stops before home, and I don’t think they’ve gathered their toys yet.” Too bad the men were using some kind of code; this would be a valuable opportunity to gather intel; like a real spy or something. So Prompto listened and kind of scooped up water and let it run down to his throat to swallow. He missed having lips.

Ardyn ended the call after a few minutes. He put away the phone and sighed dramatically. “That, dear-hawk, might be the closest thing to a friend I have in this world. I’m quite sad that we’ve run out of use for each other. I rather think the next time I see him will be the last, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to pay him back for all he’s done.” Prompto thought that sounded awfully lonely. He took a limited hop toward him and tried to make a sympathetic noise. The resulting squawk was probably on the wrong side of piercing, judging by the way Ardyn jumped. “Did you have enough breakfast?" Ardyn ran his fingers over Prompto's feathers again. Prompto figured that he could do some good keeping Ardyn ~~company~~ under watch while he figured out the bird thing.

⦥(⏜v⏜)⦤

Ardyn was apparently serious about keeping a hawk with him. Prompto watched in dismay as Ardyn loaded old towels, presumably stolen from the motel, newspapers, and a sturdy branch into the back of his classic car before he put up the rag-top. "There we are, mews on wheels." He hopped in and, to Prompto’s continued bemusement, drove circles around the station, stopping suddenly and gunning the poor engine at odd intervals. He pulled back by the picnic tables and got out. "Oh, don't give me that look," he mock-scolded Prompto, "I'll drive far more carefully with you, but I needed to make sure you'd be safe if I did have to stop suddenly."

Prompto silently allowed himself to be hooded and loaded into the car. It wasn't exactly comfortable with the low roof over him, but where else did he have to go? His hawk instincts had him gripped onto a branch as Ardyn pulled away from the Coernix. It was the start of several long days on the road.

Ardyn would drive for a bit, then stop at seeming random to take phone calls or pick up supplies. Prompto was frequently hooded, but Ardyn would take him out to supposedly stretch his wings. He tried to cajole Prompto into flight by throwing bits of meat around. Prompto continued to fall back to the ground every time. The Imperial Chancellor seemed to sleep in his car.

After a few days of this new routine one of Ardyn’s callers informed him that "the children" had been spotted and that one was missing. Prompto froze where he’d been trying to groom his feathers, they were talking about _him_.

"...and you're sure the hunters genuinely don't know where the missing boy is?" Ardyn pressed.

"No sir," the tenor voice on the phone replied, "but they've started their own inquiries. I don't think they're sophisticated enough to do so as a rouse, nor do they have anything to gain by separating the children." Prompto resumed poking at his feathers like he’d seen birds do.

"Yes, I see. Where have the children been searching?"

“Mostly near Longwythe, with brief trips to Hammerhead and the hunters’ camp looking for supplies and info.” 

Ardyn wrapped up the call, stared into the middle distance for a moment, and then started another. “Good afternoon General.”

“Chancellor, it is always a pleasure.” The man on the other end of the call had an oily voice.

“I’ve received information as to the whereabouts of several key resistance figures.” Ardyn paused, presumably for dramatic effect. “Based on what I’ve heard, I would advise you to focus your troop deployment out in the Vesperpool region.” Prompto goggled at the Imperial Chancellor. He barely heard the general’s thanks or Ardyn wrap up the conversation. He… he was pulling the MTs away. He knew where Noct was and actually interfered with the military pursuit. Prompto felt a rush of warmth. If he had lips right then he'd be grinning.

Ardyn glanced over at Prompto. He smiled, the light lines around his eyes deepening as he reached over for Prompto. "Now what's got you so bright eyed?" He mused. This time, instead of passively enjoying the caress, Prompto practically rolled into Ardyn’s hand. Ardyn chuckled and brought his other hand to bear, gently scratching Prompto's feathers. If only Prompto were human, this would be paradise.

⦥(⏜v⏜)⦤

Ardyn continued to wander, but now in the general direction of Longwythe. Their interactions had also changed. Prompto had decided to let Ardyn know he was a person, but nothing he did seemed to alert him. He tossed the bits of meat around, squawked and flapped at Ardyn, and tried poking at him with his beak. Ardyn for his part tossed them back, responded by saying things like, “ _Noooo_ , really? You don’t say?”, and pet him more. He had become bolder with handling Prompto, and started trying to ‘teach’ him to fly by bouncing him in his hands. It still wasn’t clicking for Prompto, but it was fun.

It was a cold desert night when they made it back to the general area where Prompto had run afoul of the naga. He’d been dozing on Ardyn’s shoulder while the man consulted his map, fluffed against the cold, when the sabertusks had attacked. Ardyn cried out in shock as he was tackled from behind. Prompto was knocked from his perch and tumbled into the dust by the road. He righted himself as Ardyn kicked the first sabertusk off; the second one rushing at the downed man. Prompto shrieked and, without thinking, charged the animal many times his size. He pushed off and with a few struggling flaps brought his talons down onto the surprised beast’s face. The sabertusk halted and swung it’s head to dislodge him, but he held on with terrified strength and struck with his beak.

The sabertusk he was clinging to wildly bucked and slammed it’s own head into the ground, hawk and all. Prompto felt his wing buckle and pain flared through his side and he lost his grip. He gasped for breath and was torn from his hold, taking strips of flesh with him. The sabertusk advanced, one eye gleaming and the other ruined. Prompto closed his eyes to offer a quick prayer for himself and his companion when he heard the sickeningly familiar thunk of blade on flesh and looked up. The sabertusk twitched where it was impaled by a greatsword. Ardyn stood over it, clothes disheveled, practically held up by the sword. Something dark ran down his cheeks, blood? He seemed like he’d be ok. Prompto’s vision greyed out as relief flooded him.

He came back to himself, cradled in Ardyn’s familiar hands. “Why would you do something so _foolish_?” Ardyn’s rich voice broke around the last word. Prompto hurt. It wasn’t like when the goblins had broken his wing. The pain was distant, but he could tell it was a lot. He didn’t think a potion would fix him up this time. Ardyn seemed to agree as he made soothing noises and stroked the hawk that had been his companion for the last week. He leaned down and tears soaked into Prompto’s feathers as Ardyn pressed a kiss into the crown of his head.

Overall, it was an awkward position to turn back in.

Ardyn didn’t disappoint Prompto. He managed to shift from holding the weight of a bird to a fully grown man without dropping him, but his hands were too close together. Prompto flailed and grabbed Ardyn’s lapels to keep from dashing his head on the ground while he found his balance. They stayed there, blinking at each other before Prompto exclaimed, “Hey, my arm doesn’t hurt.” Ardyn hurriedly set him down.

“Wha- How- Whe- You...you?” The man visibly flailed for a moment. He took a breath, then another.

Prompto rubbed the back of his head. “Yup, me. Other than that, uh, had a run-in with a naga; then the goblins; then you know from there.” He looked around. “Um, could you give me a ride to the rest area? They’ve got a Kenny Crow’s and I’m dying for a salad... and I’ll get whatever you want, y’know, as thanks?”

Ardyn kept staring. Prompto shuffled his feet and checked his pockets. Luckily the curse gave him back his clothes. He dug out his phone, but the battery was dead. Damned naga. He looked back up at Ardyn.

“I- yes, alright. I think we have much to talk about.” He turned and headed for his car when he froze, his broad shoulders shook once. “I should have realized you weren’t a real hawk. I never had to change the newspapers.” Prompto laughed awkwardly and followed. Hopefully he’d be able to charge his phone at the diner and get in touch with the guys. In the meantime, he’d just have to make conversation with a tall, handsome man who’d saved his life and helped his friends. Shame. He let himself into the passenger seat and together they set off into the night.

⦥(⏜v⏜)⦤

**Author's Note:**

> Started for the prompt  
> Ardyn hates people but loves animals, transformed-to-animal!Any has a peculiar day  
> Any gets transformed to animal (cat/frog/bird/... bat... whatever) because of some magical shenanigans. They somehow manage to run into Ardyn and just when they think their luck can't get any worse... this bag of daemons suddenly transforms to a giddy mother-hen. It's kinda horrifying really.
> 
> ++++ Any is injured or otherwise seemingly troubled (like species in a place they shouldn't be like a frog nowhere near water) and Ardyn goes into absolutely ridiculous lengths to ensure their well-being.
> 
> Sorry. I just want some cracky fluff.
> 
> Finished for the prompt  
> another take on "transformed to animal"  
> A while ago there were some really great fills about members of the Chocobros becoming animals due to various magic / daemon reasons and being taken in by Ardyn, who surprised them by being a huge animal lover and super kind to them.
> 
> Well I'd like to see a twist on that: Chocobro of choice gets turned into an animal and found by our favorite sneaky chancellor, but they have secretly been nursing a huge crush on him and are beyond thrilled at the opportunity to sneakily get closer to him than they ever thought possible
> 
> +++transformed-to-animal bro gets to share a bed / sleeping bag with Ardyn due to cold weather  
> ++++++++++++they turn back to human form the "standard fairytale way" (i.e. he kisses them)


End file.
